PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Mains Test-Series in the market have the following issues:

1) They're super expensive. Most aspirants just follow the crowd without understanding why they need a test-series, and end up losing above Rs. 20,000 without receiving any major benefit and also, many just stop attempting the tests when they realize they're not fully prepared for it. This needs to be changed, money should be carefully invested after thorough research.

2) The Test-Series schedule in not designed to suit everyone's study pace. Majority of the aspirants cannot study as per the schedule and end up being confused about the pace at which they have to study. They are lost between preparing quickly for the tests and other important tasks like making personal notes, studying standard textbooks and analyzing exam data. Aspirants ultimately do not finish any of these tasks and lose significant amount of time, trying to manage everything.

3) The evaluation standards in these test-series are extremely low. There's a dearth (scarcity) of experienced/professional evaluators due to low pay scale in this sector. Hence, anyone who is in the need of a job "can/may" correct your paper without applying any "evaluation methodologies" but by merely relying on the supplied "model answers". As a result of which, the evaluation is very random and of no use to the aspirant. It's a hype and myth created that you need constant evaluation, just so that you join the test-series. An evaluator who is experienced can put you on the right path within a few days and with very specific evaluation you will be learning almost autonomously. But, unfortunately such evaluators are rare and even if people come across such evaluators, they are ignored due to the myth created in the market that one cannot learn answer-writing so quickly and instead need constant feedback in every test. Again, the aspirant is at loss in between all this.

4) And, for the same reasons mentioned above, like evaluators, even the mentors are not up-to the mark in-spite of having credentials like passing prelims/mains/interview. When it comes to mentorship, it's not the credentials that matter, but the keen ability to look for strengths/weaknesses, ability to motivate as a leader, ability to find personalized solutions is what matters. None of these skills are included in the syllabus of UPSC Civil Services Exam, and hence, it's very rare to find a good mentor who can put you on the right path. Mentorship requires skills beyond what one learns during UPSC Prep and therefore guidance by any prelims/mains/interview passed candidate cannot be free of personal biases and logical errors. Personal Mentorship that is advertised with most test-series (has become a trend in the last few years) adds no value to the aspirant because of the above mentioned reasons and only adds extra cost to the test-series because the institutes will have to hire some people just to have this feature on their menu.

5) Many test-series do not contain Model-Answers that are based on word-limits mentioned in the question. A model-answer that is three to four times the word limit is as good as reading directly from the textbook or any standard resource. It is absolutely useless from the exam point of view, because compressing content and presenting it comprehensively in the answer is the biggest challenge in Mains exam. It is of no use to pay your money to buy such model answers with the test-series.

6) Also, model answers create another problem. It limits your thinking and your ability to generate linkages in the syllabus topics. For your answers to stand out and score above average in Mains exam, you need to be skilled in creative thinking. Therefore, Model answers feed those who want shortcuts and are not ready to work hard enough for the exam. For those who really want to excel in the Mains exam, churning your own model answers (with word limits) is the way forward.

7) The list of things "Which are wrong with Mains Test-Series" is so long that I can write an essay on this, but I'll stop here because by now, you have a fair idea of what I'm trying to communicate with you.

When it comes to answer-writing for Mains exam, there are three basic objectives that need to be fulfilled:

Step 1 CORRECT CONTENT: Understanding the demand of the question and deciding what to write in the answer (what content to fill).

Step 2 TIME, WORD-LIMIT & ANSWER-SPACE MANAGEMENT: Working on the presentation of the answer (What answer structure to use so that maximum communication is done with least amount of words, so that the word limit is followed and the answer is finished within allotted time)

Step 3 TEST SIMULATION: One needs to simulate real exam conditions (writing back to back tests in the morning and afternoon on consecutive days, while revising entire syllabus within a day or two before the exam, so that your mind and body gets accustomed to the real-exam settings)

It is impossible for anyone to learn all the above three things in one-go. Things have to be learnt one by one and at a pace one is comfortable with. Unfortunately, the Mains Test-Series format do not allow you to learn one by one and aspirants end up trying to achieve all the 3 steps together. As a result, no significant improvement is achieved.

All the above problems have been there from very very long time but no one wanted to break the status-quo because,

1) The coaching institutes were happy with the commercial gains through mains test series and they do not want to try anything that reduced the profit margin.

2) The aspirants have no other option available in the market, and to make matters worse, the FOMO (Fear of missing out) factor drives the "irrational behavior" of enrolling in the test series, because everyone else is doing the same.

SOLUTION:

In order to solve this issue, IASPrepKit.com has come up with "MAINS TESTBOOKS" for GS 1,2,3 & 4 using which one can learn art of answer-writing by avoiding all the problems mentioned above.

o  All 4 Testbooks combined have a total of 500 high-quality questions for micro-topics of the syllabus. The answer-space for each of these questions are exactly the same that you get in the real exam QCAB, so that you understand how to manage time, word-limit and answer-space everytime you write the answer.

o  Unlike Test-Series, these 500 questions are in the booklet form that you can always keep on your study table. Whenever you finish any micro-topic, you can solve a few questions and learn the art of answer writing gradually so that you ultimately become confident enough to simulate full-length tests (step 3 mentioned above) through Previous Year Question Papers of UPSC CS Mains exam. Until then, you can practice answer-writing at your own pace and give enough thought to it every-time you write so that you learn the art of answer-writing successfully, without subjecting yourself to the harsh pressures of test-series.

o  Directions for Self-Evaluation of answers is given in the Testbooks, so that you understand how to improve your answers every-time. It is always better to be your own judge than relying on some evaluator who is not up to the mark. A person who understands his/her strengths and weaknesses will climb the ladder faster than anyone else.

o  We have put our maximum efforts to make these 500 questions stimulate your thought process towards the requirements of the syllabus and trends in PYQs. And, there are no model answers provided, for the reasons stated above.

Mains Testbooks are really affordable when compared to the test-series, and will help you to avoid all the problems discussed above. IASPrepKit has tried to address the long-standing problem and now it's your turn to embrace this change and walk on the path self-preparation guided by logic and not FOMO.